Posted on 05/05/2005 4:48:29 PM PDT by mondoman
WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo ought to reconsider his membership in the Republican Party, a Utah congressman said Wednesday after the two GOP lawmakers put an intraparty rift over immigration policy on full public display.
"I think he ought to consider his views and decide whether they're consistent with the Republican Party," Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said of the Colorado congressman after the two clashed repeatedly during a forum sponsored by the Latino Coalition, a Hispanic business group.
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Cannon, a leading proponent of President Bush's proposed guest- worker program, has had a running feud with Tancredo, an opponent of the plan and outspoken advocate of tougher immigration enforcement. Last year, a political action committee founded by Tancredo targeted Cannon during his primary election challenge.
The two men sat side by side on stools at Wednesday's event inside Washington's J.W. Marriott hotel, and the rhetoric got so emotional that at one point they had a comical tussle over who would get to hold the microphone next.
The debate began with a third panelist, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., denouncing unnamed people he said were exploiting the immigration issue because of bigotry, hatred and prejudice.
"If not for the undocumented workers in this country, I'd say that this room would not have been as clean and well-organized this morning," Gutierrez said.
Tancredo challenged Gutierrez when he took the microphone.
"We certainly would not want to pander to anyone on this issue, would we?" Tancredo said. "What I just heard was not that, was it?"
Tancredo repeated his long-standing call for the country to close its "porous borders" before it considers a new guest-worker program.
"It is crazy to suggest this nation should not do everything possible to secure the border," Tancredo said, saying a desire for cheap, immigrant labor could leave the borders open to terrorists or narcotics traffickers. Tancredo equates Bush's proposal to "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, saying it would reward people who entered the country illegally.
When it was his turn, Cannon immediately endorsed Gutierrez's earlier statement. He said the vast majority of Americans believe that undocumented immigrants should have "a path to citizenship" as long as they have willing employers, have not committed crimes and already are contributing to society.
Cannon said only a small minority of people "truly believe we should kick out" all illegal immigrants. He cited one of Tancredo's political allies, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, who got about 1 percent of the vote after he left the Republican Party and ran for president in 2000 as a third-party candidate.
"I don't think there's a place in the Republican Party for racism, for xenophobia, for ideas that are fundamentally un-American," Cannon said.
Tancredo clapped quietly, saying he also sees no place in the debate for racism or xenophobia, which refers to a fear of foreign people or things.
Still, some observers - including a Tancredo staff member - interpreted it as an indirect reference to Tancredo, since he has recently toyed with the idea of following in Buchanan's footsteps and mounting a presidential campaign in 2008.
Asked after the event if he thought Tancredo was racist or xenophobic, Cannon said: "I don't know what motivates him."
In an interview, Tancredo fired back at Cannon, pointing to his primary election challenge by Republican Matt Throckmorton in 2004. The Team America PAC, founded by Tancredo and chaired by Buchanan's sister, Bay Buchanan, backed Throckmorton. Another group, Project U.S.A., placed billboards saying "Congressman Chris Cannon wants amnesty for illegal aliens. Do you?"
"Of the two of us, Mr. Cannon is the only one who has had a primary (challenge since taking office)," Tancredo said. "Evidently, there are a lot of people in his district who believe he is not Republican enough."
Tancredo has recently started traveling to early presidential primary states like New Hampshire, saying he wants to make sure the "serious candidates" put the immigration issue front-and-center in the 2008 race.
He has said it is unlikely he would actually run in - or win - a presidential race, but that he would consider a campaign if other candidates ignore the issue.
But he sees no need to leave the Republican Party.
"I believe the Republican Party is with me on the issue," Tancredo said.
"As long as that's the case, I frankly can't think why I would change. In the Republican Party, more people agree with me than with President Bush and Mr. Cannon (on immigration)."
Tancredo was facing a polite but generally skeptical crowd at The Latino Coalition event. Before he appeared, an opening speaker, while listing the VIPs invited to speak, added, "I'm sorry, but we also have Congressman Tom Tancredo."
That prompted a smattering of boos and hisses.
About 30 minutes after Tancredo, Cannon and Gutierrez left the stage, President Bush appeared for a presentation on Social Security. He got huge applause when he diverged to talk about his guest worker plan, which could go before Congress later this year.
I see, for one to be truly against illegal immigration, one must insist on 20 million deportations.
"Cannon, a leading proponent of President Bush's proposed guest- worker program, "
Amnesty for criminals. Nothing more to read.
That about covers it.
It takes two to tango, and tancredo treating Delay like dirt doesn't help him any.
Selling out America for the almighty dollar. Shameful.
If that's the case, I ain't voting for him. Got that McCain? Rudy?
With me it's national security most of all. Hezbollah terrorists have snuck in through the Southern Border.
Thank you
This guy ought to be rung up.....
I moved to OK a few years ago....there are plenty of white/black people cleaning rooms here.
The point is...white/black people WILL clean rooms for a living....and they do.
Good post Happy. I had forgotten about that 'parted in the middle' hairdo they had back then!
No, but when what you advocate is really just giving guest worker status to anyone that would have jumped the border anyway (or more) you cant claim to really be against the act, only against the prohibition. I wonder how many of the millions of new citizens from our left wing south will vote republican or what the republican party will have to adopt to win and keep those votes.
When Karl Rove took over. I have said it several times, and I mean it -- Rove is luckier than he has ever been good.
Who wrote that headline? After reading the text of the article, it seems to me Tancredo was dealing the heat, not being the recipient of it! And if Cannon is sympatico with Gutierrez, why is he implicating that the one who is misplaced in the GOP is Tancredo?
Excellent point. Neither do all anti nor all pro have the same motivation, same means, or same ends. Each side is a loose coaltion.
Fair is dominated by environmental pro-abortion wackos. But most of its supporters disagree with the people who pull their strings.
The Minutemen rejected racist wackos, who shared only one point of agreement with the Minutemen.
The same is true on the other side. Just in the GOP there are at least 5 separate and distinct groups of pro-immigration/open border advocates.
Historically, the GOP and its members have been all over the map on the issue. Unfortunately, the issue does not fit in a nice little box for any but the simple minded.
I personally am more concerned about the small ( 2%? ) percentage of illegals from the South who do not come here to work but are fleeing a felony warrant in their home town. Under Nixon's order the local police cannot extradit them back to their hometown police/courts. We know who they are and should focus on them.
I'm concerned about ALL border crossings.
It would be great if you could list those 5 separate GOP groups.
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